Baylor's Griffin on list of Heisman's top five

Richardson, Luck also are finalists.

Baylor junior QB Robert Griffin III, a Copperas Cove product, has a 192.31 passing efficiency rating, having completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 3,998 yards and 36 TDs with only six interceptions.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III may be stuffing his football bag with more than just his pads and game plan when he heads to San Antonio for the Valero Alamo Bowl later this month.

The Bears star may be toting the Heisman Trophy.

The record-setting offensive headliner, capping a spectacular final month of the season with a four-touchdown showing in a 48-24 demolition of Texas last weekend, was named Monday as one of five Heisman Trophy finalists.

He'll join Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu and Wisconsin running back Montee Ball in New York on Saturday night when the annual award is presented.

“You don't ever see yourself right there,” said Griffin, the first Baylor player to be named a finalist. “You dream it, you want to be there, but when you actually get there, you're still like, ‘I can't believe this is happening.'”

The player known in Waco as RG3 has led Baylor to its first nine-win campaign in 15 seasons. He has thrown for 3,998 yards and 36 touchdowns against only six interceptions.

Griffin, at a gathering at the school's Simpson Center, thrust his arms in the air when the news was announced.

“It's not all of a sudden you're a Heisman Trophy finalist,” Bears coach Art Briles said afterward. “You have to prepare yourself, you have to perform and do things the right way. He epitomizes everything you have to be to become a complete football player on and off the field, and that's why he's a finalist.”

While the impressive showing against 22nd-ranked Texas was the final exclamation point on a stellar regular season, the Heisman watch for Griffin began in earnest after a startling upset of then-No. 5 Oklahoma last month.

In that 45-38 victory, Griffin threw for 479 yards and four TDs, including the game-winner with eight seconds left. Griffin, who leads the nation with a 192.31 passing efficiency rating, raised eyebrows after Saturday's triumph against Texas when he noted that Baylor “just won the Heisman.”

“The way I said that, it came off wrong to some people,” he said Monday. “But I was just saying they told us we had to beat Texas, and we beat them decisively. They said we couldn't do it against a big-time defense, we did it against them, so that's why I said Baylor won its first Heisman Trophy. But you never know.”

The showing secured Baylor's stint at the Alamo Bowl, which takes place Dec. 29. The Bears will face Pac-12 representative Washington (7-5).

Luck is a finalist for the second straight season. Richardson is the offensive catalyst for a powerful Alabama team headed to the BCS championship game.

Ball has scored 38 TDs for the Badgers, one shy of the NCAA mark held by Barry Sanders. Mathieu, nicknamed “Honey Badger,” has made numerous game-changing plays for the top-ranked Tigers.